TLC
by Arones
Summary: Will needs some TLC.


_A/N: This story is dedicated to C0bbweb who is sick with the con crud. Enjoy and please review! ~~Arones_

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It might have been a busy day, but it didn't slip past Helen that she had not seen Will for more than twenty-four hours. Slipping up to her monitor she sent him a short email requesting a meeting with him later that evening. She would have walked down to his office, but there was plenty of paperwork and she needed to check in on their newest resident.

Slipping from her chair a few hours later, Helen straightened her skirt and made for her room. The new resident was safe and comfortable in his new habitat and Helen was ready for her nightly workout. It wasn't until she reached her closet and started to pull her work clothes off that she realized Will had never showed for the meeting she requested. Donning her track pants that stopped mid-calf and a t-shit, exchanging her bra for a sports bra first, she slipped on tennis shoes and made for the gym.

Pulling up a filled water bottle she took a sip before glancing up at the sound of feet on a treadmill. Her eyes narrowed and focused on Will who was running on the machine at the far end of the room. Stepping over to him, she set the water bottle down and listened to the heavy pull of air into his lungs and the rasping noise he made when he breathed out.

"Will?"

He shook his head, sweat flinging off his brow and away from his body as he continued his steps. He stumbled. Helen immediately moved around and pulled the safety cord to turn off the treadmill. Will gripped the side rails, hanging his head and trying to calm his breath.

"Take slow deep breaths." Helen gripped his wrist, feeling for his pulse and locked her eyes on his face. His skin was burning hot. Once he had calmed enough she helped him off the machine and to sit on a weight bench. Her hand flitted up to his forehead, where she brushed her fingertips over his forehead slipping his hair away. "You have a fever."

He nodded.

"Were you planning on telling me?" At the shake of his head, Helen sat next to him. Handing him her water she issued a silent order for him to drink. He took a long drag from the bottle and handed it back to her. "How long?"

"Two days… I think." Will set his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes.

Helen waited carefully, for minutes on end, until the sweat was dried on his body. "You need to rest, whatever gave you the idea to work out?"

"It's supposed to make you feel better… the exercise."

"Will…" She sighed and pressed a hand to his cheek. "It is not always helpful to exercise when ill, please remember that next time."

"No next time."

His determination made her chuckle. "Come along then, to bed with you." Standing, she helped to pull him upright. Once he was balanced on his feet, Helen's eyes level with his, she noted the pallor of his skin. Will thrust a hand over his mouth and raced forward until he found the trash bin. His stomach jerked and his shoulders curved as the water he had downed earlier forced its way back up.

Rubbing a hand in gentle circles over his back, Helen waited until he stopped and handed him the water again. He took a swig and swished it around his mouth before spitting it out. Resting heavily against her body, Will closed his eyes. "I don't feel good."

"I have no doubt of that." She chuckled and started walking toward the exit. Her hand was wrapped around his waist as they made their way to his room. Laying him on the bed, Helen watched as he slipped his shoes off. She was about to ask if he wanted anything, but changed her mind. He would deny it anyway. Moving off into the bathroom, she wet a washcloth and returned to run it over his face and neck cooling his skin and cleaning the sweat from his brow.

Will bundled into the covers, pulling them up to his chin and stared at Helen with wide eyes. She finished and set the cloth on the night stand, her face bent low over him. Helen didn't know why she did it, but her lips pressed against his forehead and lingered as she drew in a deep breath. Will slid a hand out of the blankets and ran it down her arm. "You don't have to stay." His throat was scratchy and his voice was deeper than she was used to, his nose plugged with mucus changed the timbre.

"None sense." Kissing his cheek quickly she made for the door. "I'll be right back."

The man didn't have to wait long, and it wasn't as if he was going to move much. He did manage to strip his shirt and shorts from his workout and curl into a ball on his side. The door opened and Helen slipped back inside. She watched him carefully, sitting against his bent knees and running fingers the side of his face and neck.

"I want you to take something."

At his nod, Helen reached to set something on the nightstand. Will turned on his back and sat up slightly. She slipped the thermometer under his tongue. Opening the bottle cap she pulled out three pills and held them in her palm until she pulled the thermometer from his lips. Clucking her tongue she held out the medicine and a glass of water.

"Slow sips."

Will obliged and rested back against the pillows, closing his eyes. "I don't want you to get sick."

"I do not get sick."

Helen dealt with the medication and thermometer, fiddling with them while Will smiled. "I seem to remember you being sick on more than one occasion."

"Oh, posh." She smirked, "You need to rest up. You can't miss Declan's visit can you now?" She pulled the blankets up before fisting her hands in her lap, not knowing what to do with them.

She knew that the mood she was sending him was an odd one, that he had no idea why she was still sitting there, refusing to leave. It was only confirmed when he reached out and grabbed her hands, running his thumb gently over them. "You don't have to stay, you know. It's not like I'm going to run off or die. It's the flu."

Helen shook her head, "I'll stay until you fall asleep." At Will's nod she knew he understood at least a little bit of why she wanted to stay. But at the same time she felt she owed him a fuller explanation. "When you were sick before…"

"When was I sick before?"

Cocking her head to the side, Helen gave him a sharp look waiting until he finished coughing before starting again. "When you were becoming the hollow earth abnormal, the Cillobar," she waited for recognition that he knew what she was talking about. "I wasn't there."

"Magnus…"

"I wasn't, Will. I was in the lab, I was working. I wasn't in your room. I wasn't with you." She shook her head. "I'm so sorry."

"Magnus…" When she went to speak again, Will stopped her. "There is nothing to be sorry for." He sniffed and wiped his hand over his face. "I promise you…nothing." He started coughing again and Helen held him up so that he was sitting.

Once he finally calmed, she laid him back down. "Take this." Holding a tiny cup out to him with syrupy liquid inside, she smirked at Will's look of disdain. "It's this or the infirmary." Will took it begrudgingly and drank the contents down. Helen bent over him and pressed lips to forehead once more before standing to leave.

Will grasped her hand and tugged her back down to sit next to him. Her brows furrowed and she turned her head. "What is it?"

Shaking his head, Will slid backwards until there was enough room. "Stay." Sniffling, he waited until she relaxed before releasing her wrist.

"All right." Turning around, Helen slid onto the bed and leaned against the back rest. Will took a moment before lacing his fingers with hers.

"See you're here now." He yawned and buried his face into the pillow under his shoulder.

"Yes, I'm here now." She smiled knowing that had been his intention the entire time, her moment of weakness not serving her well. "I am here."

"Don't go."

"I won't go." Helen shook her head and squeezed his hand gently. "I'll wake you up for your medicine in a few hours all right?" Will mumbled under his breath and slipped into slumber, his mouth open to breathe and coughs erupting every once in a while.


End file.
